Plan B Day

So after struggling with some mental barriers, I resolved to go back to Plan B, which is to say, I decided to just give’r. Yesterday’s run was the first of the Plan B workouts, and it was pretty successful although not stellar. Fueled by a nap and a huge lunch, I then set out for a solid base ride, which led into the second opportunity of the day to give’r, and this time I really capitalized, running my best mile in transition so far. (I always run the same one mile in transition when that is the workout. I don’t always run just one, but when I do, that one is always the same.) I took a nice epsom salt bath and went to bed feeling good about the day. It was an extra good day because after some good workouts, I got spend some time gluing tubulars. Working on my bike always makes it a good day, providing it is not time spent trying to fix something that I can’t figure out, which can be annoying…

This morning was an extra good day for Plan B. The main workout of the day was 5 x 3′ of Give’r (aka Zone5) with 5′ rest after each. My last session in Z5 was not so illustrious, so I set out today to change that. I started out a little bit conservative on the first one. The second one felt better, and I started to push the pace. Number three I got the motor humming pretty well. Then with two left to go, I took the old rowing challenge. The rowing mentality, dictated by the great Greg Hughes, dictates that you blow out the second to last interval of workout, so that you can really test what you have left in the tank on the last one. Anyone, according to Greg, can really hammer the last interval in a workout. So the key is challenge yourself on the second to last, so that when the last one comes, you really empty the tank.

So I was about halfway through number four, going along pretty well, and I checked the average watts. Well, they were higher than I thought, so I decided to really give’r right then and there to see what I could do. I was left with that shaky feeling in the legs that means you’ve really hit it hard. And of course, I had one more left to go. But I was determined to trump the average power on number four. I got rolling strong on number five, really “openin’ up the pipes” to quote Joel, and really put the hammer down. At the end, despite feeling like I was going into a headwind, I was actually just pedaling with smoked legs. But mission: accomplished. Peak watts of the day. Plan B was a success…

So, if you should ever catch that negativity sneaking up on you, just prescribe yourself a healthy dose of Zone5, head out there, and resort to Plan B, which is to say, JUST GIVE’R!

Appendix 1: For those not familiar with the term “give’r,” I offer the following bit of culture from the movie FUBAR:

Dean Murdoch: As it stands Plan B is to just keep on Given’r.Farrel Mitchener: Giving it to her?Dean Murdoch: No given’rFarrel Mitchener: Can you maybe explain given’r? What exactly does that mean?Dean Murdoch: Give’r. You just go out and you give’r. You keep on working hard.Farrel Mitchener: Is that a plan?Dean Murdoch: Yeah that’s a plan right there.

Appendix 2: The best definition for “give’r” I’ve found comes from UrbanDictionary.com:give’rFunction: VerbEtymology: Canadian, particular to rural areas, especially Lanark County Ontario and most of Alberta; An amalgam of the words give and her; made popular by movie “FUBAR”1. Going all out and/or balls to the wall to take care of business as quickly and as awesomely as possible2. Acting in a way that is like you’re rocking out really hard, but at the same time, trying to solve a problem that may or may not involve drop-kicking something without hesitation

When you’re trying to get your politics paper done before the office closes and plan how you’re going to get drunk later on that night, and you’ve only got 45 minutes left to figure out both problems, and you’re so pumped up that you might drop-kick your roommate because he ate all of your peanut butter – you just give’r!